Oiling Speargun Parts?

agbiv said:

Yes and you can use mineral oil like we do in our Meat and Seafood Market on the saws and machines. Non-toxic and biodegradable.

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Hi Agbiv, are you sure mineral oil is non-toxic and biodegradeable. Isn't it just like engine oil but more refined?

UPDATE: Agbiv is, of course right. Although it is petroleum based, there is a food grade mineral oil apparently:
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_grade_mineral_oil[/ame]

Bill McIntyre said:

For what its worth, I never oil any part of my spearguns.

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Me neither. I was told when I bought my first Rob Allen not to lube the mech. - just flush it out. It's basically made out of fibre reinforced plastic (nylon? like Grivernoy?) and stainless steel. That said, I had an RA trigger mech. start locking up during reloading & firing. However RA offer "quick switch" trigger mech. cassettes which make it easy to replace them.

I would not use grease though -- from my motorcyling days I recall that it just holds every bit of grit & gunk that comes its way. If you do use it, be prepared with de-grease & re-grease periodically. I would not use 3-in-1 oil either, even though I have some (it's the general purpose oil in Britain Spaghetti - my grandfather used it to oil his push bike). It's quite thick, although not as thick as American Tenacious bike oil. I'd use it to oil squeaky door hinges. If I had to, I might use a v. light oil like WD40 or one of the cheaper alternatives. Most likely though I would try to find either a light silicone based lube (hoping it would be less likely to react with the plastics) or preferably a dry lube, such as silicone or graphite that won't hold grit.


Hey Bill, you have a fair few gongs in that picture. Kudos. The in-laws recently turned up a picture of one of their ancestors in an American civil war officers uniform, can't wait to see it. It was about to be burnt with a bunch of other old documents! Azapta, your grandpa looks very dashing, with that 'tache he could have been a Wing Commander in the RAF! I once worked with a former British Major & he looked a lot like that. Bill re. healthcare, I was v. lucky to have great health & great health insurance while working in the USA -- I was acutely aware that not everybody did though.

Re. health care. I think the NHS is, potentially, the jewel in Britain's crown, so to speak - certainly something worth fighting for. It is much better than it is portrayed in the USA, it is much less bureaucratic for a start (although perversely that is changing as they try to ape the US hospitals!) but it is far from perfect and has become worse in recent years (I blame both the Tories and New Labour for that). We also have non-families which have not worked for 3 or more generations in the UK now - the unemployed are often far better off than poorly paid workers (the "working poor"). Families have split because a single parent with child is better off on benefits than a family with poorly paid parents. It is perverse and wrong IMHO. I know some, perhaps many, people in the US work entirely or mainly for the healthcare benefits (e.g. spouses of the self-employed) - it is a powerful motivation to work. But then there are also many workers in the US that do not get healthcare (more "working poor"). That seems wrong to me too. Maybe the likes of Bill Gates could look at helping some of those closer to home? Plenty of folk in Washington State need health care.

Cammo said:

Does anyone worry about the oil giving off a bad scent to the fish...when on a dive if using WD40 or similar? I don't think it would help (but also not a major concern).

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Hadn't thought of that! I have heard WD40 proposed by anglers as a fish attractant - however I think oils tend to attract animals from the shark family (dog fish, rays...and sharks!). Mentioned it to bass guru Dr. Mike Ladle & he thought it was probably just folklore - people guessing because they use WD40 to stop their gear rusting.

Cammo said:

...
I guess if anyone wants to use oil to play it safe and use some fish oil or vegetable oil, as least it's not petrochemical based. :head
:friday

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I used vegetable oil on my RA spear when using it regularly, so as not to taint the fish. But fish & veg. oils degrade pretty quickly and go rancid, so not good for long term use & I wouldn't use it in the trigger mech. because it would probably leave solid gunk when it goes off. I do mix vegetable with the petrol in my strimmer/weedwacker sometimes though, if I don't have 2-stroke oil. Somebody told me their son ran his Ford Transit van on vegetable oil when it was on sale in Lidls - would love to know if that is really possible. It is often cheaper than petrol & diesel these days.

Re. RA, they replaced the mech. for free (5 year warranty) although replacements are(/were) quite reasonably priced. Good company.

settingsteel said:

I shoots a farter so oil is out, a good dunk, not rinse, in water (often shooting a gun with a jet of water washes the sand deeper into the mech, causing it to alt. jam/wear out faster than otherwise) As for the oil on the mech. on regular guns I about 1x/month give a squirt of CRC which is not detrimental to plastic or metal, and remember just a tiny squirt.

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Pardon my ignorance SettingSteel but what is a farter - a pneumatic speargun? CRC?

mishu1984 said:

...90% of my dives are shore dives with VERY fine sand that gets everywhere. ... and after some dives i even take the trigger mechanism appart and use an old toothbrush to get sand out of the mechanism...

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Ditto re. sand. Hadn't thought about removing the trigger mech. for cleaning (was told it is unnecessary - albeit by a boat spearo) but now having replaced the mech - it was surprisingly easy on the RA - I would consider removing & giving the mech. a really good flush. Was surprised to find 4 mini pebbles fall out of the trigger mech. of my RA some weeks after bathing it and flushing it thoroughly. The Omers get sand in the mechs. too -- and I'm real careful to keep them out of the sand on the beach, this comes, I think, when you enter & exit the water. Mishu, what sort of gun do you use the WD40 on?

sunfish said:

Some angling boats use WD40 in the groundbait and on hookbaits...I'd be more worried that it might damage wetsuits.

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Oil - and I think WD40 probably has some even more volatile parts designed to evapourate off - probably can degrade neoprene BUT neoprene is highly resistant to degradation from oil. In fact it is used for washers and safety shoes soles because of its resistance to oil. In the infamous lube discussion thread, some folk suggested using mineral oil and the like as a lube to put spearo wetsuits on.

UPDATE: Agbiv is, of course right. Although it is petroleum based, there is a food grade mineral oil apparently:
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_grade_mineral_oil[/ame]
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_oil[/ame]

I use WD40 & similar products (Shimano produce some v. good lubes if you can find them at reasonable prices - got mine from Nashbar in the USA some years ago) on my clipless pedals (esp. spd pedals) every time I take a bike out because it cleans off accumulated gunk while offering some light protection & lubrication that should not hold much gunk/grit. I don't expect it to stay on long once the going gets tough though.

Years ago I watched a mountain bike race organised by a friend in Chicago during the winter. Everybody with spd-style pedals failed to finish because they became little ice-balls on the end of the crank shafts.

azapa said:

Hey X, what happened to your RA trigger Mech? just bought and used first time yesterday a RA 110 Vecta (i think). my arms are still hurting from trying to load it!

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Yes they can be a bear. You never hear the SA spearos complain though - perhaps nothing to compare it to?! The 20mm bands esp. I think the lack of loading butt is a factor (perhaps psychological as well as physical) - perhaps technique and/or body shape too, I get badly bruised upper abs. if I don't wear a second loading pad under the rather thin Elios one. It's definitely worth being careful, a hurried reload will be self-punishing. Of course, once you've been bruised it gets more painful and you get more bruised with each reload (I was black & blue after a week of spearing with it a couple of years ago) - which makes it harder to fully commit to a quick, accurate load. I'll go back to a 16mm band when this one wears out (if it ever does!) - RA or Dessault.

Yes, the new trigger mech. was easy to fit thanks. I've only used it once since and it worked fine, actually it was a little light & released a little prematurely on a bass - might have just been me getting used to it I suppose. The design has changed somewhat and it feels lighter & crisper but a little less solid feeling. I did get a nice big mullet with it that day though.

Agbiv, I'll put a pint aside for your poor tired eyes (I know the feeling!).


Saleh, I was going to say "isn't WD40 bad for you" but then remembered that the main hand cleaner over here, Swarfega, was found to be carcinogenic several decades ago. But as a friend pointed out, you wash that off with soap & water afterwards, and it is probably better for you than a whole load of used engine oil!